Russia will launch an oceanography satellite in March to keep track of a vast amount of data that will help improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts, a Russian scientist said on Wednesday.

"It will be a kind of an orbital 'radio receiver' listening to Earth," said Viktor Savorsky, acting laboratory head at the Institute of Radio and Electronic Technology affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences, which developed the satellite equipment.

It will provide data, among other things, about oceanic temperature and salinity, as well as moisture levels and temperature on land, which are essential to meteorologists, climatologists and oceanographers, he added.

The satellite will use a frequency of 21 centimeters, which ensures the complete "transparency" of the earth's atmosphere, enabling the probe to receive data around the clock regardless of weather conditions.

Information from the mission will improve knowledge of changes on the global and regional level and ensure more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts.